Each time I go to the supermarket, it’s like a new learning experience. This week, we bought a new strange fruit, just to see what it was like. This is a Kiwano. It is also known as the African horned cucumber or horned melon.

It kind of reminded me of a pomegranate, but bigger seeds. It was yellow and spiked on its outside, jelly like and green on the inside. It sort of reminded me of apple in flavour, but with a totally different texture. A bit odd!

Our next odd fruit and veg purchase is a quince. I’ll let you know how that goes next week!

This weekend was the South Island masters regatta, up in Clyde, near Alexandra, where we were cycling a few weekends ago. There is some snow up there in the mountains now, a sprinkling on the crests. It makes the scenery all the more stunning. It also means it was flipping freezing too, way too cold for a regatta in my opinion!

A group of us from the masters squad shared a unit, which we rented for the weekend. We started the weekend with a 5km race on the Saturday, before the usual 1000m races on the Sunday. 5km is a long way to race, not something I have done before. I was in a women’s quad. We worked our butts off and actually chased down the leaders, fended off the challengers for third and THINK we took the win. But the organisers have lost the results so we are still waiting for the official line on the situation!

The following day we were there before dawn, for the start of the races. I rowed in the novice single (second I think) and novice double – with a girls from the local Dunstan Arm club (third I think) when racing was halted. The wind whipped up I didn’t make the fast change over for race three, and the rest was suspended, then cancelled because of the weather. Shame, because my favourite 1000m women’s quad had not yet been run!

Oh well, pack up and off to the dinner for the results. No, wait, they have lost the results, so we still wait for the actual medals, which apparently will be posted! Grrrr.

Also this weekend was the annual rotary club book sale. And wow, what an event! Hahaha. I didn’t expect it to be quite like it was. People were queuing outside the Civic Theatre for the sale to open on the Thursday evening. Last year I didn’t go, I couldn’t see the point. This year I decided to see what the fuss was all about.

The theatre foyer and stage were packed out with tables upon tables of books. Many many staff were around constantly filling them from boxes and people were armed with reusable shopping bags and boxes for their purchases. Bags and bags of books each.

Only having lived here a few months the last time it was held, and now a year, I now know why it is so popular. Books are REALLY expensive here!

So I embraced the situation and went in with the idea of bagging as many bargains as I could to keep me going, I refuse to buy full price kiwi books! All in all, we got this little lot for around $50. Excellent.

Back to work we go, another week at the coal face, and the first week of winter. Eugh!